Dartmouth Leads in Graduation Success Rate

Hanover — Dartmouth College led all NCAA Division I institutions in Graduation Success Rate for the second straight year.

Dartmouth had a GSR of 99 percent for student-athletes who began college in 2006, tying the Big Green with Brown University and the University of Notre Dame.

“Our student-athletes’ academic efforts are nothing short of amazing,” Dartmouth Director of Athletics and Recreation Harry Sheehy said. “Their ability to balance the rigors of a Dartmouth undergraduate education and a championship-driven Division I athletic experience is outstanding. Dartmouth students benefit from high engagement from our faculty, deans and campus colleagues. This approach to student success defines comprehensive excellence.”

The Ivy League also topped the survey for a third straight year, with the Ancient Eight combining for an average rating of 96 percent. After Dartmouth and Brown, Harvard and Yale came in a 98 percent, followed by Penn and Princeton at 96, Cornell at 95 and Columbia at 85.

This marks the third consecutive year that the Ivy League has been included in the GSR data, as the NCAA did not collect graduation rate data for student-athletes who were not receiving athletically-related aid until 2004.The average GSR for the last four graduating classes of all Division I student-athletes (2003-06) climbed to 81 percent, still at an all-time high for the NCAA, according to NCAA President Mark Emmert. The most recent one-year GSR for the 2006 class is 82 percent, the highest rate ever. Since the NCAA first began tracking the GSR with student-athletes who entered college in 1995, the rate has increased 8 percentage points.

The NCAA’s Graduation Success Rate includes transfer students and student-athletes who leave in good academic standing. The GSR measures graduation over six years from first-time college enrollment.

Men’s College Soccer

Chargers in Title Game

Castine, Maine — Colby-Sawyer advanced to the North Atlantic Conference championship game with a shootout victory at No. 2-seed Maine Maritime.

Colby-Sawyer and Maine Maritime played 110 scoreless minutes and needed a best of five penalty kick shootout to determine the winner. With the score knotted 3-3 with one shot remaining, Charger freshman Andrew Clothier ripped a shot to the center of the goal and scored as the goalie dove to his left. The shootout clinching goal lifted Colby-Sawyer to a second straight upset in the NAC tournament.